With those principles in mind, I have recommendations for voting in the election of 2012. These are my own personal recommendations. I do not speak on behalf of Hawaii Reporter. Indeed, my opposition to Linda Lingle and Charles Djou is probably opposite to the editorial position of Hawaii Reporter, which deserves praise for allowing this contrary viewpoint to be published.

I believe racial separatism and ethnic nationalism are the greatest threats to long-term peace and stability in Hawaii. Yes, it's true that our nation and state face great difficulties related to budget deficits, unemployment, taxation, foreign policy, etc. But racial strife is a far greater threat than any of those things. Consider Bosnia, where Europeans of three different ethnicities were living, working and playing together and intermarrying (similar to Hawaii), until Serbs, Croats, and Muslims started killing each other, engaging in ethnic cleansing and racial separatism. Consider Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Darfur, East Timor, Sri Lanka, etc. where ethnic strife led to civil war and mass atrocities.

We in Hawaii must do all we can to defeat racial separatism. I appeal especially to conservative Republicans who think it's very important to win Republican control of the U.S. Senate and keep control of the House. But my friends, I say to you that there comes a time when we who live in Hawaii must give top priority to what's best for Hawaii, even if it means we send to Congress people who will vote the wrong way on national issues.

In Hawaii we already have two branches of the state government which focus on using government money to provide racially exclusionary benefits: OHA and DHHL. There's also the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission, consisting of ethnic Hawaiians who oversee that island until such time when a Native Hawaiian Governing Entity has received both federal and state recognition, whereupon that island will automatically be turned over to it. Then there's Kamehameha Schools with $8-15 Billion in assets pushing racial separatism. The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii has compiled a list of nearly 900 racially exclusionary programs funded by federal and state money, often including information about how much money was given, who received it for what purpose, etc.; seehttp://4hawaiiansonly.com

I will vote against candidates who agree with me on most issues but who push for the Akaka bill, racially exclusionary programs, and racial separatism. The only reason the Akaka bill has never passed in 12 years is because of the principled opposition of Republicans who have repeatedly blocked it in the Senate. If a leftwing Democrat and a conservative Republican both support the Akaka bill, I will vote for the Democrat rather than send a Republican to represent Hawaii who will make deals in the Republican caucus to undermine Republican opposition to the Akaka bill. Lingle's top federal priority during her 8 years as Governor was to pass the Akaka bill. On October 16, in her televised debate with Hirono, Lingle once again said that as a Republican she will work inside the Republican caucus to pass the Akaka bill, in a way Hirono cannot do. Djou gave a 30-minute interview on OHA radio touting his ability to persuade fellow Republicans to pass the bill. Let's keep them out of Congress. For a much more in-depth analysis, including published information showing how strongly Lingle and Djou pushed the Akaka bill, see http://tinyurl.com/93erov9

Linda Lingle, Charles Djou, and Kawika Crowley have abandoned both the national and the state Republican Party platforms that strongly oppose the Akaka bill. So conservative Republicans should not hesitate to abandon those candidates. I will hold my nose and vote for Mazie Hirono for U.S. Senate, and recommend a vote for Colleen Hanabusa for U.S. House District 1. Those two contests might be close, so please don't abstain from voting -- Hirono and Hanabusa must get more votes than Lingle and Djou to ensure the right outcome. I live in House District 2, where Republican candidate Kawika Crowley favors the Akaka bill and also wants to rip the 50th star off the flag to make Hawaii an independent nation. Democrat Tulsi Gabbard will easily defeat Crowley, so there's no need to vote for Gabbard merely to defeat Crowley. Thus I can afford to vote a principled blank showing disapproval of both candidates.

Five OHA seats will be on the ballot November 6. Everyone can vote regardless of race. Everyone can vote for all 5 seats regardless of island designation of candidates. This is our chance to fundamentally change OHA. The general principle is: throw the bums out! But for whom should you vote?

The incumbent for the OHA at-large seat is Haunani Apoliona. She served as trustee and chair of the OHA board for many years, always pushing the Akaka bill. Let's toss her out! Fortunately there's a truly outstanding candidate running to replace her -- Keli'i Akina, Ph.D. Dr. Akina is a professor both in Hawaii and in China. He strongly opposes the Akaka bill and the Act 195 state-recognized Akaka tribe. He believes that Hawaiians of the blood and Hawaiians at heart should work together for the betterment of us all and to reform OHA. He is the opposite of a racial separatist. I strongly endorse him and hope you will vote for him. Read his powerful, inspiring commentary in the September 7, 2012 issue of Hawaii Reporter:http://www.hawaiireporter.com/?p=71030

The incumbent for the OHA Moloka'i seat is Colette Machado, who is currently the OHA chairperson. She has served for several years on the OHA board and is a strong supporter of the Akaka bill. Let's toss her out! Unfortunately we cannot do that because there are no other candidates for the Moloka'i seat. It's like an election in Cuba or the old Soviet Union where there's only one candidate. Let's vote blank. If there are more blanks than positive votes for Machado, it will be a vote of no-confidence in her.

For the OHA Kaua'i seat I recommend a vote for Jackie Burke, because she opposes the Akaka bill. She opposes it for the wrong reason -- she's a secessionist advocating an independent nation of Hawaii. And she supports the racially exclusionary government handouts for ethnic Hawaiians. So I certainly do not endorse her. I only recommend a vote for her because she's the least bad among the candidates, and most importantly because she opposes the Akaka bill.

For the OHA Maui contest, don't vote for Kaulana Mossman who feels entitled to inherit his father's seat on name recognition alone. Don't vote for Carmen Hulu Lindsey who promised Abercrombie she would not run for election in November, as a condition Abercrombie required before appointing her -- she reneged on her pledge and should not be rewarded for doing so. None of the candidates has much to offer. But I recommend Johanna Amorin, because she has considerable experience volunteering for community service groups and some of those groups are racially inclusive for the benefit of the general community. Amorin seems to see herself as a community service volunteer and not primarily as a racial separatist.

For the Hawaii Island seat, I'll vote for incumbent Robert Lindsey. He favors the Akaka bill but does not push it aggressively. He works humbly and quietly but effectively to get OHA to spend its money on programs that actually help needy people.

Finally, what about the state legislature? One candidate stands out above all others as a champion of unity, equality, and aloha for all -- a man who not only opposes the Akaka bill but has traveled to Washington D.C. to lobby against it at a time when it was vitally important to have an elected official from Hawaii telling U.S. Senators that we oppose the bill. I'm talking, of course, about the only Republican in the Hawaii state Senate, Sam Slom. Senator Slom also organized a celebration of Statehood Day in front of the former Capitol of the Territory of Hawaii where the transition to statehood took place (Iolani Palace). He bravely stood with a group of Hawaii patriots there who were assaulted with vile language and threats of violence from Hawaiian sovereignty hooligans who consider the Palace to be their Capitol of a still-living Kingdom of Hawaii. Senator Slom has consistently voted against resolutions in the legislature supporting the Akaka bill. He was the only legislator out of 25 in the Senate and 51 in the House who voted against Act 195 (2011) that established a state-recognized Akaka tribe and a racial registry to begin organizing it. So I strongly endorse Senator Sam Slom for re-election. May he live long and prosper!

In other contests for the state legislature my general inclination is to support Republicans because they usually seem more eager than Democrats to cut spending, reduce taxes, reduce bureaucratic and tax policies that harm small businesses. Republicans also may be more willing than Democrats to step away from "political correctness" and perhaps get some courage to oppose racial entitlements, OHA, and the demands that will inevitably be made for transfer of land, money, and jurisdictional authority to the Akaka tribe.

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Ken Conklin is a retired professor of philosophy, who has lived in Kane'ohe since 1992. His area of greatest expertise has become the analysis of Hawaiian sovereignty. Dr. Conklin's book "Hawaiian Apartheid: Racial Separatism and Ethnic Nationalism in the Aloha State" is in the Hawaii Public Library, and also at
http://tinyurl.com/2a9fqa